Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) Stock Price Target Raised at Citigroup

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Citigroup from $22.00 to $27.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.82% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on FTRE. Zacks Research lowered shares of Fortrea from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $21.50 price objective on shares of Fortrea in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Fortrea in a report on Thursday, October 15th. William Blair raised Fortrea to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Fortrea from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.68.

Fortrea Stock Down 8.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:FTRE traded down $1.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.29. The stock had a trading volume of 2,873,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,562,137. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. Fortrea has a one year low of $8.55 and a one year high of $26.16. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.40, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.93.

Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. Fortrea had a negative net margin of 3.18% and a positive return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $691.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $671.57 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Fortrea will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Fortrea

In related news, CEO Anshul Thakral sold 99,869 shares of Fortrea stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $1,913,490.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 316,797 shares in the company, valued at $6,069,830.52. This trade represents a 23.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fortrea

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FTRE. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Fortrea by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fortrea by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fortrea in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Amundi grew its position in shares of Fortrea by 20.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 12,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Fortrea by 15.2% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 2,296 shares in the last quarter.

Key Stories Impacting Fortrea

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortrea this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortrea reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.28 per share, above the $0.22 consensus estimate and up from $0.12 a year earlier. Revenue of $691.5 million also exceeded expectations of $671.6 million. Fortrea Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management forecast 2026 revenue of $2.665 billion to $2.690 billion and raised its adjusted EBITDA outlook to $210 million-$218 million, signaling improved expected operating profitability. Fortrea Raises Adjusted EBITDA Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target from $23 to $26 and maintained an “overweight” rating, reflecting increased confidence in Fortrea’s valuation and earnings potential. Barclays Fortrea Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, Fortrea continues to report a negative net margin, so investors may remain focused on whether the improved EBITDA outlook translates into sustainable bottom-line earnings. Fortrea Third-Quarter Results
• Negative Sentiment: Fortrea shares fell after the results, indicating that investors may have viewed the revised guidance, business outlook, or earnings quality as less compelling than the headline quarterly beat. Fortrea Shares Drop After Q3 Results

About Fortrea

Fortrea Holdings Inc is a global contract research organization (CRO) that provides services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company helps clients plan, manage and execute clinical development programs, supporting the testing of new medicines and therapies from early-stage research through regulatory approval and post-approval activities.

Its services include Phase I through Phase IV clinical trials, clinical operations, patient recruitment and access, data management, biostatistics, medical monitoring, pharmacovigilance and regulatory support.